The present invention generally relates to a coin selecting apparatus usable for an automatic vending machine, coin exchanger, amusement machine or the like and more particularly to a coin separator for introducing a number of selected coins into a predetermined coin passage in accordance with the kind of coins to be separated.
In general, a coin selecting apparatus includes a primary coin selecting device for discriminating whether a coin inserted through a coin insert slit is a true coin or a false coin and introducing selected true coin and false coin into their predetermined coin passage and a coin separator for introducing the selected true coins into predetermined coin passages in accordance with the kind of coins to be separated.
As a conventional coin separator for separating primarily selected true coins in accordance with the kind of coins, there are known a so-called rail type coin separator which is so constructed that coins adapted to be transferred on an inclned rail are separated in dependence on a difference in diameter of the coins and the separated coins are introduced to predetermined coin passages in accordance with the kind of coins and a coin separator using cradles and carrier arms to introduce coins which fall down, into their predetermined coin passages in accordance with the kind of coins.
It has been heretofore required that the coin selecting apparatus is constructed in smaller dimensions due to the fact that it is accommodated within a limited space in an automatic vending machine or the like. However, the above-described conventional coin separator has a need of arranging in a parallel relation predetermined coin passages through which coins separated in accordance with the kind of coins are introduced in the direction width of the coin selecting apparatus, that is, in the transverse direction relative to the direction of falling of coins from the viewpoint of constructing inclined rails, cradles or carrier arms, in addition to a space required for disposing the inclined rails, cradles or the carrier arms. Thus, a space exclusively required for the coin selector accommodated in the coin selecting apparatus becomes larger and moreover the coin selecting apparatus is unavoidably constructed in larger dimensions. When a space exclusively required for the coin separator becomes large, a space required for arranging other devices to be accommodated in the coin selecting apparatus, for instance, a coin discriminating device for discriminating true coins from false coins is limited. This causes the coin selecting apparatus to be constructed only with much difficulties. Even though it is assumed that the coin selecting apparatus can be constructed, the apparatus itself becomes enlarged. Accordingly, there is a fear that the coin selecting apparatus can not be installed in an automatic vending machine or the like which has a limited space required for installing it. It should be noted that this tendency becomes increasingly remarkable as the number of kinds of coins to be handled in the coin selecting apparatus increases.